I don’t like fan bases at all. They always manage to make things weird that doesn’t need to be weird. Fan fiction is culprit number one. Make your own thing, instead of making someone else’s thing, but worse.
I can enjoy the things i like without needing to flaunt it obnoxiously.
Guitar/Metal, spider-man and Donald Duck comics, Harry potter-books, sports(just sports in general, exceptional achievements are exiting to watch).
MMA. I’ve been training for 4 years and I really enjoy it. But I’ve only ever watched 2 UFC fights on TV and never really interacted with the fans.
RuPaul’s Drag Race for me… For a show about dudes with fake boobies in dresses, people sure love to send death threats over the tiniest most imagined slights. P.s. I am talking about the fans, not homophobes on the outside.
A lot of it is either power scaling or gooning for stories. For tech it’s a lot of gatekeeping and trolls. Not worth it most of the time.
Warhammer/Warhammer 40k
Love the games an the lore but I wouldn’t touch the fandom with a 10 foot pole. Some of the absolute worst degenerates in there…
Tfw you realise the country you’re living in has its own fandom for something and they’re ridiculously welcoming
Undertale.
The older I get the better I am at finding groups of people and fanbases where this doesn’t apply. I’m in a spot with music, cooking, visual arts, science and more both IRL and online that are just nice. And it’s not about lack of different opinions and being in a bubble, I just focus on and stay with people and groups who are nice about it.
Pipe tobacco.
Love the hobby, rusticness of it, ‘the art’, if you will, but man is the entire community full of grumpy old incensitive conservatives. There are exceptions to the rule like a few dudes at my local shop, but for the most part, I keep to myself about it.
Hey I’m really interested in getting into pipe tobacco.
Alas I already smoke, but what would be the best way to start off? Find a good local shop and get lucky or is there a better way?
My first suggestion is to head to youtube. Pipe knowledge is rather universal. Hobbiton Piper is a great person to start with, as is Timberdrifter and Muttonchop Piper.
There are many different pipe blends and types, but primarily they’re split between Aromatics, English and Virginias or Virginia blends. Oriental and Balkan blends I’d consider more niche. Personally, I like Virginias and the blends therof, VA/Perique and Burley is my jam, but I’d suggest starting with Aromatics.
As for types of pipes, stick to Corncobs starting out, they’re not only my personal favorite to smoke, but they’re cheap and you can have one for every day of the week for not much dough. Grab a nice briar once you’re sure you’re into the hobby.
Then all you have to do is find a calm spot and a good book, and away you go.
The Last of Us 2. There were some obviously heavy parts but I thought it was still good. Then I found the subreddit of people losing their shit over it and quickly left 😅
For sure the last of us 2 the fans of the 2nd game were absolutely awful. When the TV show did the second season seeing the fans of the game going online and harassing fans of the TV show and going after the actress who played Ellie absolutely disgusted me.
Amazing Digital Circus for me. Sad that I know people who didnt watch the show just because they wanted to avoid the fans.
lemmy.world/c/formula1 is small enough that we occasionally acknowledge a race happened.
Star Wars. It’s not perfect, and sometimes bad, but avoiding the fanbase gives me peace.
This was Homestuck for me. I liked the fanart and whatnot but I’d never actually interact with anyone
I feel that the 2 things that will always ruin something is the fans and cost of merch.
Sonic the Hedgehog for me. I love the franchise, but I stay clear of the fandom. So many weird people latch onto Sonic stuff and make it all icky and creepy. I guess that’s what happens when a company like SEGA claims “Everything is canon.”
I at least like that a few pieces of Sonic media lampshade this.
In one episode of Sonic Boom (a show designed to be watched high by adults) he’s kidnapped by an aardvark that’s a rabid fan.
“Oh! N-no, I wasn’t trying to escape, I was just…reading some of this fanfiction! Ooh. Sonamy, spicy!”
“Oh. Yeah, I don’t really even care for it, but it seems requisite for the readers.”
